Every Savannah at the Animal Kingdom Lodge has its Own Selection of Animals

“Staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge? Every savannah has its own selection of animals so make time to visit each during your stay.”

What better way to start your day at Disney than to wake up and go out on your balcony and see a bunch of giraffes just hanging out only a few feet away! The Animal Kingdom Lodge is one of the two Deluxe resorts that Adam and I have stayed at and we immediately fell in love with the place.  We liked it so much that we even spent two whole days doing nothing but lounging at the resort watching the animals! I had booked the Animal Kingdom Lodge as a surprise for his birthday–he thought we were just going to stay at Port Orleans Riverside–and at the time we had the best savannah: Arusha, the center savannah that had the best choice of animals and (in my opinion) the nicest views. The first day we were there, Adam noticed that a Bongo had jumped over the little wires that enclosed the savannah and was eating some grass right beneath our balcony!  He called the animal people immediately and they told him not to worry, the bongos were pretty smart and always were jumping over the fence and they told him he was an Animal Hero.  Which made him embarrassed but we still laugh about it to this day.  That bongo hung out outside of our balcony the entire time we were there, so we named him Billy Bongo. What? It works!

Sadly the bongos no longer roam any of the three savannahs, but there are plenty more animals to be found!  From the Disney website you can see:

“Ankole Cattle, Bontebok, Eland, Zebra, Greater Kudu, Impala, Okapi, Red River Hog, Nyala, Reticulated Giraffe, Roan Antelope, Sable Antelope, Thompson’s Gazelle, Waterbuck, White-Bearded Wildebeest, Abyssinian Ground Hornbill, Blue Crane, East African Crowned Crane, Greater Flamingo, Marabou Stork, Ostrich, Pink-Backed Pelican, Spur Winged Geese, Guinea Fowl and Ruppel’s Griffon Vulture”

Though not all animals are on every savannah (giraffes are the only one you can find on all three) so you’re going to have to walk around to see them all–an activity I highly recommend. Not only are all three savannahs different, what with the different animals, but lining the halls of the Animal Kingdom Lodge are amazing displays of artwork from all around Africa. It gives you the chance to really take in all the details and the viewing areas are meticulously designed. Make sure you’re not just going to see the animals during the day, there are also night vision goggles available to view them at night, which is super cool and makes you feel like a super spy!

Really these days, I don’t think there’s such a thing as the “best” savannah like there used to be.  Disney has done a good job of mixing  up the “cool” animals with the “eh” animals so that every savannah is just as enticing. And you don’t need a savannah-view room to experience the animals either, so don’t feel like you’re missing out!  You can just hit one of the many viewing locations they’ve set up, or go out on Arusha Rock and get up close and personal with them.  From behind a fence of course!